Wednesday, February 12, 2014

budgeting isn't a dirty word.

i have a strange relationship with money. i feel uncomfortable talking about it. i try not to think about it. and i really don't like when people tell me what to do with it. but i love target. as long as i have a basic understanding about what's going on in my accounts, i'm happy.

doesn't this make me a perfect fit for my financial planner husband? just like gourmet peanut butter and 99cent store jelly.

with all of our grown up decisions coming up in the next year, i have definitely been trying to get over my awkwardness. babies are expensive, buying a house is expensive, buying a new car to keep baby safe is expensive. so we're starting to stick to our budget. for real this time...

we started taking the dave ramsey "financial peace university" course, and so far, i've been learning a lot. one of the main themes that has been sticking with me is that it all comes down to my attitude and my motives. what do i truly value and why do i value it?

i've been trying to get over my little issue, not only to work on my personal contentment and lower my need for more stuff, but to support bub-hub as he tries to lead our family. being the road block speed bump in his plans gets a little old after a while. if only i could learn to love and appreciate the word budget as much as he does.

here are a few things i've been trying lately: *click unsubscribe on all of my daily shopping emails // in my current pregnant state, i may not be able to wear the cute spring clothes, but that doesn't mean i can't indulge in accessories and shoes! cutting out that daily temptation definitely helps decrease the number of "but it's so cute!" thoughts i have each day.

*subscribe to budget-focused lifestyle blogs for tips and encouragement // i really enjoy reading about individuals and families who work hard and succeed. it's so inspiring to me and i feel encouraged knowing that if they can do it, so can i.

*apply the 24 hour rule // if you love something in the store, or think you really need something, give it 24 hours and see if you still love it as much as you did before. my mom taught me this in high school, and usually, i completely forget about it, so it seems to be a pretty good trick!

*shop on the weekends and with a budget-buddy // my budget buddy is bub-hub. and i'm not gonna lie, i thoroughly dislike shopping with him. this is really hard for me, but i definitely make better choices when he's with me.

1 comment:

We are Dave Ramsey fans, and we love budgeting. I can't believe I'm saying that, but it's true! Having a budget that we are both on board with makes money an enjoyable and peaceful topic in marriage rather than a stressful one. It makes me happy to hear others are discovering that truth as well! I am a structured girl at heart, so having a place where all my spending fits calms my nerves.

My #1 tip: use a budget app! We use GoodBudget (free at the app store) and love it. I prefer one that doesn't connect to our bank accounts or anything because we are forced to manually enter every purchase into a virtual envelope. Sounds hard, but once you get used to it, it's second nature, and the app is linked to both of our phones so we keep track of exactly how much we have spent every month. We keep the master budget on the computer in an excel file, but our daily spending is tracked in the app. I love it! This is a little blog post I wrote about what little I know about budgeting: http://allpreciousandpleasant.com/2013/09/16/7-habits-of-a-happy-budget/

Wow. This comment is a mile long. Sorry about that! And CONGRATS on the little bean you are growing. So exciting!!! EEEK!